CN113166426B

CN113166426B - Process for the preparation of phosphorus-containing flame retardants and their use in polymer compositions

Info

Publication number: CN113166426B
Application number: CN201980081081.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 西蒙·J·博尼哈迪; 茱莉亚·约·李; 何庆亮; 拉梅什·夏尔马
Original assignee: Lanxess Inc
Current assignee: Arlanxeo Canada Inc
Priority date: 2018-12-20
Filing date: 2019-12-18
Publication date: 2023-03-10
Anticipated expiration: 2039-12-18
Also published as: MX2021007136A; CA3121912A1; WO2020132075A3; IL284042A; SG11202105074RA; ZA202103394B; EP3898818A2; KR20210107664A; BR112021011694A2; US20220073547A1; CN113166426A; WO2020132075A2; CN116023410A; JP2022514658A; AU2019402918A1

Abstract

Phosphorus-containing flame retardants are prepared by reacting a mixture comprising a metal or a suitable metal compound and a stoichiometric excess of an unsubstituted or alkyl-or aryl-substituted phosphonic acid or pyrophosphonic acid, relative to the metal or suitable metal compound, at a reaction temperature at which the phosphonic acid or pyrophosphonic acid is in the molten state. The chemical composition of the resulting flame retardant product results in excellent flame retardancy and exhibits high thermal stability. The flame retardants of the present disclosure are useful, for example, in polymer compositions, particularly thermoplastics that are processed at high temperatures in a wide range of applications.

Description

Process for the preparation of phosphorus-containing flame retardants and their use in polymer compositions

This application claims priority to U.S. provisional application No. 62/782,948, filed on 12/20, 2018, and U.S. provisional application No. 62/923,446, filed on 10/18, 2019, both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

Technical Field

Highly efficient, thermally stable phosphorus-containing flame retardants are produced by a process that includes reacting a metal or a suitable metal compound with a stoichiometric excess of phosphonic or pyrophosphonic acid. In many embodiments, the chemical composition of the resulting flame retardant produced as one or primarily one compound results in excellent flame retardancy and exhibits high thermal stability. The flame retardants of the present disclosure are useful, for example, in polymer compositions, particularly thermoplastics that are processed at high temperatures in a wide range of applications.

Background

Phosphonates, i.e. precisely compounds of the formula:

wherein R is an optionally substituted alkyl, aryl, alkaryl or aralkyl group, p is typically a number from 1 to 4, M is a metal, and y is typically a number from 1 to 4, such that M is ^(+)y Is a metal cation, where (+) y represents the charge formally assigned to the cation.

As disclosed in US 2007/0029532, decomposition of phosphonates is known to break down polymers at temperatures encountered during processing of polyesters and polyamides, for example during temperatures above 260 or 270 ℃.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,053,148 discloses that brittle heat resistant foams can be obtained by heating phosphonates at elevated temperatures.

In comparative examples 1 and 2 of us patent 9,745,449, glass-filled polyamide compositions comprising 10 to 25wt% of aluminum methylphosphonate are processed at elevated temperatures. A reduction in torque was observed during compounding, consistent with polymer degradation, producing a brittle final product material upon cooling, which was dusty after grinding and could not be shaped. Analysis of the compounded material by Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) provided additional evidence of degradation. The observed loss of desired polymer properties is consistent with the polymer degradation demonstrated in US 2007/0029532 and the brittle foam formed in US patent 5,053,148.

Thus, simple phosphonates are not suitable for use in many polymers that are processed at high temperatures or subsequently exposed to high temperatures, such as 250 ℃,260 ℃,270 ℃ or higher, because they undergo chemical conversion at such temperatures by processes that damage the polymer. This may occur during compounding, such as in an extruder, or simultaneously with the salt being present in the polymer in high temperature applications.

On the other hand, us patent 9,745,449 discloses that heating phosphonate at a sufficiently high temperature, typically in the absence of other materials, thermally converts the salt into a different, more thermally stable material that exhibits excellent flame retardant activity when incorporated into a polymeric substrate. When processed in polymer compositions at elevated temperatures, such as 240 ℃,250 ℃,260 ℃,270 ℃ or higher, the thermally converted materials do not degrade at high temperatures nor do they cause polymer degradation, which is an important advantage over previously known phosphonates that exhibit flame retardant activity but often degrade polymers during processing. The thermally converted material is described as comprising one or more compounds represented by empirical formula (IV):

wherein R is alkyl or aryl, M is a metal, q is a number from 1 to 7, e.g., 1,2 or 3,r is a number from 0 to 5, e.g., 0, 1 or 2,y is a number from 1 to 7, e.g., 1 to 4, and n is 1 or 2, provided that 2 (q) + R = n (y).

However, the methods and materials of us patent 9,745,449 encounter challenges, e.g., the product is typically produced as a solid material, requiring grinding (grind), milling, or other such physical treatment prior to use; forming a product mixture containing a water-soluble or heat-labile compound; and difficulty in controlling the phosphorus/metal ratio of the resulting product. In addition, the examples of us patent 9,745,449 describe the production of phosphorus-containing flame retardants in several steps, wherein an intermediate metal salt of phosphonic acid is produced, followed by heating of the dried salt at a temperature exceeding 200 ℃.

The present disclosure addresses the challenges identified above while also producing phosphorus-containing flame retardants without the need to produce or use intermediate salts as described in us patent 9,745,449.

Disclosure of Invention

In accordance with the present disclosure, a phosphorus-containing flame retardant is produced by a process comprising reacting a mixture comprising a metal or a suitable metal compound and a stoichiometric excess of an unsubstituted or alkyl-or aryl-substituted phosphonic acid relative to the metal or suitable metal compound at a reaction temperature, wherein:

the metal is capable of forming a multivalent cation (i.e., a polycation represented by formula M in its corresponding cationic form ^(+)y A metal of formula M, (+) y represents the charge of the metal cation, and y is 2 or higher), or a suitable metal compound of formula M _p ^(+)y X _q A metal compound represented by formula (I), wherein M is a metal, (+) y represents the charge of a metal cation, y is 2 or higher, X is an anion, and the values of p and q provide charge balance;

the molar ratio of unsubstituted or alkyl-or aryl-substituted phosphonic acid to metal or suitable metal compound in the mixture is higher than 4:1;

the reaction temperature is 105 ℃ or higher; and is

The unsubstituted or alkyl-or aryl-substituted phosphonic acid is in the molten state at the reaction temperature.

Also disclosed is a process for producing a phosphorus-containing flame retardant comprising reacting a mixture comprising a metal or a suitable metal compound and a stoichiometric excess of unsubstituted or alkyl-or aryl-substituted pyrophosphonic acid at a reaction temperature, wherein:

the metal is capable of forming a multivalent cation (i.e., in its corresponding cationic form represented by formula M above) ^(+)y The metal represented by the formula M), or a suitable metal compound is represented by the formula M _p ^(+)y X _p Wherein M is a metal, (+) y represents goldA metal compound which belongs to the charge of a cation, y is 2 or higher, X is an anion, and the values of p and q provide charge balance.

The molar ratio of unsubstituted or alkyl-or aryl-substituted pyrophosphonic acid to metal or suitable metal compound in the mixture is greater than 2:1; and is

Unsubstituted or alkyl-or aryl-substituted pyrophosphonic acids are in the molten state at the reaction temperature.

In the methods of the present disclosure, unsubstituted or alkyl or aryl substituted phosphonic or pyrophosphonic acids used in stoichiometric excess serve as the reaction reagents and solvent, as described herein. Typically, the reactants are formed as a slurry as the resulting flame retardant product of the invention precipitates from the reaction mixture. The excess phosphonic acid or pyrophosphonic acid remaining after the reaction can be removed by filtration and/or washing (e.g., with water) along with any possible by-products. In many embodiments, substantially pure flame retardant materials are produced, for example, flame retardants that substantially comprise a single compound or a mixture of substantially active compounds having flame retardant activity. The conversions based on metals or metal compounds are generally high and the products can be easily isolated and optionally further purified, if desired.

The present process overcomes the difficulties observed in the process as given in us patent 9,745,449, because for example the production of water soluble or thermally unstable compounds is reduced or avoided and the flame retardant product, which is usually crystalline in powder or small particle form, can be produced directly in an easily processable form, i.e. without or without grinding, granulating or other such physical processing. Furthermore, in many embodiments, as further explained herein, the resulting flame retardant material produced according to the present disclosure has a higher phosphorus to metal ratio than seen with simple metal phosphonates. The high phosphorus to metal ratio in the flame retardant produced results in higher efficiency and therefore can allow lower loading levels when compounding the flame retardant material into thermoplastics.

Other embodiments of the present disclosure include, but are not limited to, a process for preparing a phosphorus-containing flame retardant comprising reacting a metal or suitable metal compound with a molar excess of an unsubstituted or alkyl or aryl substituted phosphonic acid at a reaction temperature, wherein the reaction temperature is about 150 ℃ or greater, the unsubstituted or alkyl or aryl substituted phosphonic acid is in a molten state at the reaction temperature, and the molar ratio of the unsubstituted or alkyl or aryl substituted phosphonic acid to the metal or suitable metal compound is greater than 4:1. In one embodiment, the reaction temperature ranges from about 150 ℃ to about 300 ℃, such as from about 150 ℃ to about 280 ℃, from about 160 ℃ to about 260 ℃, or from about 160 ℃ to about 220 ℃. In one embodiment, the molar ratio of unsubstituted or alkyl or aryl substituted phosphonic acid to metal or suitable metal compound ranges from about 5:1 to about 30. In one embodiment, suitable metal compounds are metal oxides, halides, alkoxides, hydroxides, carboxylates, or phosphonates. In one embodiment, a suitable metal compound is aluminum oxide, aluminum trichloride, aluminum hydroxide, or aluminum isopropoxide.

Other embodiments include, but are not limited to, a phosphorus-containing flame retardant produced according to the methods disclosed herein, a flame retardant polymer composition comprising (i) a polymer and (ii) a phosphorus-containing flame retardant of the present disclosure, a method for improving the flame retardancy of a polymer by incorporating therein a flame retardant of the present disclosure, and a method for incorporating into a polymer a flame retardant composition comprising a flame retardant of the present disclosure.

The foregoing summary is not intended to limit the scope of the claimed invention in any way. Additionally, it is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention as claimed.

Drawings

Fig. 1 shows the results of a thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of an exemplary flame retardant material produced according to example 1 of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

In this application, the words "a" or "an" mean "one or more" unless stated otherwise.

The term "alkyl" in this application includes "aralkyl" unless the context indicates otherwise.

The term "aryl" in this application includes "alkaryl" unless the context indicates otherwise.

The term "phosphonic acid" as used herein refers to unsubstituted or alkyl or aryl substituted phosphonic acids, unless the context indicates otherwise.

The term "pyrophosphonic acid" as used herein, unless the context indicates otherwise, refers to unsubstituted or alkyl or aryl substituted pyrophosphonic acids.

As used herein, a "stoichiometric excess" of an unsubstituted or alkyl or aryl substituted phosphonic or pyrophosphonic acid relative to the metal or suitable metal compound means that the amount of phosphonic or pyrophosphonic acid exceeds the stoichiometric amount required for the reaction between the metal or suitable metal compound and the phosphonic or pyrophosphonic acid. As described herein, the stoichiometric excess is typically represented by the molar ratio of phosphonic acid or pyrophosphonic acid to metal or suitable metal compound in the reaction mixture.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a metal or suitable metal compound is reacted with a stoichiometric excess of an unsubstituted or alkyl or aryl substituted phosphonic acid to form a phosphorus-containing flame retardant. The reaction temperature is 105 ℃ or higher, the phosphonic acid is in a molten state at the reaction temperature, and the molar ratio of the phosphonic acid to the metal or suitable metal compound in the reaction mixture is greater than 4:1. In this reaction, the metal is oxidized and may be represented by the formula M in its corresponding cationic form ^(+)y Wherein M is a metal, (+) y represents the charge of the metal cation, and y is 2 or higher. Suitable metal compounds may be represented by the formula M _p ^(+)y X _q A metal compound wherein M is a metal, (+) y represents the charge of the metal cation, y is 2 or higher, X is an anion, and the values of p and q provide charge balance.

In another aspect, a metal or suitable metal compound as above and a stoichiometric excess of unsubstituted or alkyl or aryl substituted pyrophosphonic acid are reacted to form the phosphorus-containing flame retardant. The pyrophosphonic acid is in a molten state at the reaction temperature and the molar ratio of pyrophosphonic acid to metal or suitable metal compound in the reaction mixture is greater than 2:1.

In many embodiments, the molar ratio of phosphonic acid to metal or suitable metal compound in the reaction mixture is 5:1 or greater, e.g., about 6:1 or greater, about 8:1 or greater, or about 10. A larger molar excess of phosphonic acid relative to the metal or suitable metal compound may be used in the reaction mixture, such as about 12. A large molar excess of phosphonic acid relative to the metal or suitable metal compound may be used. For example, the molar ratio can be up to about 50. However, as should be appreciated, at certain large molar excesses, process efficiency may be compromised, for example, precipitation of product from the reaction mixture may be hindered. In many embodiments, the molar ratio is in the range from about 8:1, from about 10, from about 1, from about 12, or from about 16.

In many embodiments, the molar ratio of pyrophosphonic acid to metal or suitable metal compound in the reaction mixture is 3:1 or greater, such as about 4:1 or greater, about 6:1 or greater, or about 8:1 or greater. Larger molar excess values of pyrophosphoric acid to metal or suitable metal compound are typically used in the reaction mixture, such as about 10. Pyrophosphoric acid may be used in large molar excess relative to the metal or suitable metal compound. For example, the molar ratio can be up to about 30. However, as should be appreciated, at certain large molar excess values, process efficiency may be compromised, for example, precipitation of product from the reaction mixture may be hindered. In many embodiments, the molar ratio is from about 4:1, from about 5:1, from about 6:1, or from about 8:1 to about 1 or to about 25, such as from about 5:1, from about 8:1, or from about 10 to about 25.

The reaction temperature for producing the phosphorus-containing flame retardant according to the present disclosure should be selected such that the phosphonic acid or pyrophosphonic acid is in a molten state at the reaction temperature. For example, phosphonic acids and pyrophosphoric acids (e.g., alkyl-substituted phosphonic acids or pyrophosphonic acids) are generally solid at room temperature (e.g., methylphosphonic acid melts at about 105 ℃ and ethylphosphonic acid melts at about 62 ℃), so heating the phosphonic or pyrophosphonic acids results in a liquefied physical state (i.e., a molten state) that is generally suitable for forming a consistent reaction mixture. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the reaction temperature required when the phosphonic or pyrophosphonic acid is in the molten state may vary depending on the reagents and thermodynamic conditions selected.

The reaction temperature should also be selected to promote the formation of mono-anionic and/or di-anionic pyrophosphonic acid ligands in the reaction product. For phosphonic acids, reaction temperatures of 105 ℃ or higher are used. Without being bound by a particular theory, the reaction temperature is selected to produce the diphosphonate ligand by a dehydration reaction. In many embodiments, the metal or suitable metal compound is reacted with the phosphonic acid at a temperature greater than 105 ℃, such as about 115 ℃ or greater, about 120 ℃ or greater, about 130 ℃ or greater, about 140 ℃ or greater, about 150 ℃ or greater, about 160 ℃ or greater, about 170 ℃ or greater, about 180 ℃ or greater, about 200 ℃ or greater, about 220 ℃ or greater, about 240 ℃ or greater, about 260 ℃ or greater, about 280 ℃ or greater, or any range therebetween. The reaction temperature may be higher than the above temperatures, such as up to about 350 ℃, up to about 400 ℃, or higher, but it generally does not meet or exceed the boiling point of the phosphonic acid. For example, the reaction temperature may be in the range of from about 150 ℃ to about 300 ℃, such as from about 150 ℃ to about 280 ℃, from about 160 ℃ to about 260 ℃, or from about 160 ℃ to about 240 ℃. In many embodiments, the reaction temperature is in the range of from about 110 ℃ to about 350 ℃, from about 115 ℃ to about 300 ℃, from about 125 ℃ to about 280 ℃, or from about 140 ℃ to about 260 ℃. Water is produced by the dehydration reaction, which can potentially lead to unwanted reverse (hydrolysis) reactions. Thus, in some embodiments, the reaction system is designed to facilitate water removal from the reaction, such as continuous water removal. For example, the reaction temperature can be selected to be above the boiling point of water to the extent necessary to vaporize at least a portion or a desired amount (e.g., a majority, substantially all, or all) of the water from the reaction. Other means such as gas purging, vacuum, and/or other known means may be used to facilitate water removal from the reaction system.

Because pyrophosphate does not require dehydration, the reaction temperature of pyrophosphate can be lower than the reaction temperature described above for phosphonic acids. Generally, a limiting criterion for selecting a suitable reaction temperature when using pyrophosphonic acid is the requirement that the pyrophosphonic acid be in a molten state at the reaction temperature. Typically, the metal or suitable metal compound is reacted with the pyrophosphonic acid at a temperature of 20 ℃ or greater. In many embodiments, the metal or suitable metal compound is reacted with the pyrophosphonic acid at a temperature greater than 20 ℃, such as a temperature of about 40 ℃ or greater, about 60 ℃ or greater, about 80 ℃ or greater, about 100 ℃ or greater, about 140 ℃ or greater, about 180 ℃ or greater, about 200 ℃ or greater, or any range therebetween. The reaction temperature may be higher than the above, such as up to about 300 ℃, up to about 400 ℃, or higher, but it typically does not meet or exceed the boiling point of the pyrophosphonic acid. In many embodiments, the reaction temperature is in the range of from about 25 ℃ to about 350 ℃, from about 25 ℃ to about 280 ℃, from about 30 ℃ to about 260 ℃, from about 40 ℃ to about 260 ℃, from about 60 ℃ to about 260 ℃, from about 80 ℃ to about 240 ℃, from about 100 ℃ to about 240 ℃, from about 110 ℃ to about 240 ℃, or from about 120 ℃ to about 240 ℃. For example, depending on the metal compound used to react with the pyrophosphonic acid, water may be generated from the reaction. As described above, in some embodiments, the reaction system is designed to facilitate water removal from the reaction, such as continuous water removal. For example, the reaction temperature can be selected to be above the boiling point of water to the extent necessary to vaporize at least a portion or a desired amount (e.g., a majority, substantially all, or all) of the water from the reaction. Other means such as gas purging, vacuum, and/or other known means may be used to facilitate water removal from the reaction system.

Typically, as the reaction proceeds, product will form as a slurry as the resulting flame retardant product precipitates out of the product reaction mixture. Thus, the reaction will generally be carried out for a time sufficient to effect such precipitation. Generally, the amount of time required to achieve at least substantial conversion to a flame retardant product, based on the metal or suitable metal compound, will depend on the reaction temperature, with higher temperatures generally resulting in shorter reaction times. In many embodiments, the metal or suitable metal compound is heated with the phosphonic acid or pyrophosphonic acid at the reaction temperature for about 0.1 to about 48 hours, such as about 0.2 to about 36 hours, about 0.5 to about 30 hours, about 1 hour to about 24 hours, for example, about 1 hour to about 12 hours, about 1 hour to about 8 hours, or about 2 hours to about 5 hours, although other durations may be used.

The metal or suitable metal compound and the molar excess of phosphonic acid or pyrophosphonic acid can be combined in any manner suitable to form a reaction mixture. For example, the phosphonic or pyrophosphonic acid and the metal or metal compound can be mixed (e.g., stirred) together to form a homogeneous reaction mixture. In some embodiments, a metal or suitable metal compound is added to the phosphonic or pyrophosphonic acid that has been preheated to the reaction temperature. In some embodiments, the phosphonic or pyrophosphonic acid is preheated and stirred while molten, such as under a nitrogen atmosphere or under reduced pressure/vacuum. In other further embodiments, the metal or metal compound is added as rapidly as possible without causing large changes in the reaction temperature due to the exothermic nature of the reaction. In some embodiments, the phosphonic or pyrophosphonic acid is combined with the metal or suitable metal compound without preheating the phosphonic acid, or without sufficient heating to liquefy the phosphonic or pyrophosphonic acid, and the components are then heated to reaction temperature. The entire amount of metal or suitable metal compound or phosphonic acid or pyrophosphonic acid can be added to the reaction in one portion or in part. No additional solvent is required because the phosphonic or pyrophosphonic acid used in molar excess acts as a reagent and solvent, but other solvents may be used if desired. In some embodiments, additional solvents are used when a molar ratio of phosphonic acid or pyrophosphonic acid to metal or suitable metal compound at or near the lower boundary of the molar ratio disclosed herein is employed.

In some embodiments, after achieving a desired conversion, e.g., complete or substantially complete conversion to flame retardant products, the product reaction mixture is cooled to a temperature above or not below the melting temperature of the excess phosphonic or pyrophosphonic acid to maintain the excess phosphonic or pyrophosphonic acid in a liquefied state. Excess phosphonic or pyrophosphonic acid can be removed by filtration/washing and optionally recovered. The recovered excess phosphonic or pyrophosphonic acid may be recycled, e.g., back to the reactor where the metal or suitable metal compound is reacted with the phosphonic or pyrophosphonic acid. After conversion to the reaction product, a solvent such as water, alcohol, and/or other suitable (e.g., polar) liquid may optionally be added to dissolve or assist in removing excess phosphonic acid or pyrophosphonic acid. The flame retardant product is typically isolated by filtration, optionally followed by further processing (e.g., washing, drying, sieving, etc.). The resulting flame retardant product is typically in powder or small particulate form and is easy to process, i.e., no grinding, milling or other such physical processing is required or necessary prior to use. It is to be understood that the production of the flame retardant material "directly" in powder or small particles according to the methods of the present disclosure allows for post-treatment of the reaction product, such as isolation of the flame retardant product (e.g., isolation of the flame retardant product from excess phosphonic or pyrophosphonic acid or residual solvent), which may include treatment of the reaction product, such as by filtration, sieving, washing, drying, and the like. After the reaction, the resulting product reaction mixture, which is typically a slurry, may be cooled to or just above the melting temperature of the excess phosphonic acid, and the slurry may be combined with water. The water/slurry mixture may be agitated as necessary to break up any lumps that may form. The solid product can be isolated by filtration, optionally washed with water and dried to obtain the product in the form of a powder or small particles. In some cases, the product may be sieved to refine the (refine) particle size.

The methods of the present disclosure yield flame retardants comprising one or more metals and one or more mono-and/or bidentate diphosphonic acid ligands. In some embodiments, compounds additionally comprising phosphonate ligands may be produced, but in all embodiments, compounds comprising a pyrophosphonic acid monoanionic ligand and/or a pyrophosphonic acid dianionic ligand are obtained.

The method may produce a mixture of flame retardant compounds, but in many embodiments the method produces a flame retardant material that is one or primarily one compound that has a high conversion, such as at least 70%, 80%, 85%,90%,95%,98% or more conversion or any range therebetween, based on the metal or metal compound, relative to the mixture of compounds obtained with prior art methods involving heat treatment of metal phosphonates. In a general embodiment where phosphonate ligands may be present in the flame retardant product, the reaction generally proceeds as follows:

where M is a metal cation and (+) y represents the charge of the cation, e.g., M is a di-, tri-, tetra-, pentavalent cationic metal; x is an anionic ligand or ligands attached to the metal, and the stoichiometry of M and X (i.e., p and q) provides a charge balancing compound; r is H, alkyl, aryl, alkaryl, or aralkyl; a. b, c and d represent the ratio of their respective components in the reaction product, and y, a, b, c and d are values that provide a charge-balanced product, provided that y is 2 or greater and only one of a or c can be 0 (typically, c is not zero). In some embodiments, when present, the phosphonic acid ligands described above having a coefficient d may be present as a dianion. In many embodiments, d is 0.

In another aspect, the flame retardant products produced according to the present disclosure (typically in the form of a powder or small particles) comprise a compound of empirical formula (II) or a mixture of different compounds

(II)

Wherein R is H, alkyl, aryl, alkaryl or aralkyl, a, b, c and d represent the ratio of their components relative to each other in the compound, and a is typically 0 to 8, e.g. 0 to 6,0-4, or a number from 0 to 2, c is typically 0 to 10, e.g. 0 to 8,0 to 6,0-4, or a number from 0 to 2, d is typically 0 to 6, e.g. a number from 0 to 4 or 0 to 2, M is a metal, y is a number from 2 to 5, e.g. 2, 3 or 4, typically 2 or 3, and M is a metal ^(+)y Is a metal cation, wherein (+) y represents the formTo the charge assigned to the cation. a. The values of b, c, d and y may vary, but will satisfy charge balance equation 2 (a) + c + d = b (y), and only one of a or c can be 0. In many embodiments, c is not zero. In the presence of dianionic phosphonic acid ligands in the compound, the charge balance equation becomes 2 (a) + c + d +2 (d) = b (y). Only the value of b is limited because it must satisfy the previous equation, but in many embodiments b is a number from 1 to 4, e.g., from 1 to 2. In certain embodiments, a is 0, 1, or 2 (e.g., 0 or 1), c is 1 or 2, and d is 0, 1, or 2 (e.g., 0 or 1), and the product is charge balanced.

In many embodiments, d is 0, as is:

wherein R, M, y, a, b, and c are as described above, and the product charge balance equation becomes 2 (a) + c = b (y).

Typically, c in formulas (II) and (III) above is not zero (e.g., c is 1-10, 1-8, 1-6, 1-4, or 1 or 2).

In many embodiments, such as when using a divalent cation or trivalent cation metal, the method according to the present disclosure surprisingly finds that the c in the above formula in the resulting flame retardant compound is not zero and the product has a phosphorus atom to metal atom ratio (i.e., P/M) that is more favorable for providing flame retardancy than the phosphorus-containing flame retardants described in the prior art. For example, trivalent cationic metals (e.g., aluminum) and divalent cationic metals (e.g., zinc) are known to form tri-and di-substituted charge balancing compounds, respectively. As seen in the art, aluminum triphosphonate having a phosphorus to aluminum ratio of 3:1 and zinc diphosphonate having a phosphorus to zinc ratio of 2:1 are referred to as flame retardants. However, formation of a pyrophosphonic acid ligand according to the present disclosure, particularly where c in the above formula is not zero, the phosphorus to metal ratio in the flame retardant product is higher. For example, as demonstrated in the examples disclosed herein, when the method of the present disclosure is employed, the phosphorus to aluminum ratio or phosphorus to iron ratio in the resulting flame retardant product is 4:1. Such high phosphorus to metal ratios result in high efficiencies and can tolerate reduced loadings when compounded into thermoplastic polymers.

In certain particular embodiments, y in formula (III) is 2 (i.e., M) ^(+)y Is a divalent cationic metal, as described herein), a is 0,b is 1, and c is 2. In certain embodiments, the divalent cationic metal M is Mg, ca, or Zn. In other embodiments, y in formula (III) is 3 (i.e., M) ^(+)y Is a trivalent cationic metal, as described herein), a is 1,b is 1, and c is 1. In certain embodiments, the trivalent cationic metal M is selected from Al, ga, sb, fe, co, B, and Bi. In certain embodiments, the trivalent cationic metal M is Al, fe, ga, sb, or B.

Like the inorganic complex compounds, the reaction products of the above reactions and the compounds of empirical formulas (II) and (III) are idealized, and the reaction products or compounds may include coordination polymers, complex salts, salts sharing certain valences, and the like.

For example, in many embodiments, empirical formula (II) or (III) represents monomeric units (i.e., ligands) of a coordination polymer, the structure of which is amplified to form the flame retardant compounds of the present disclosure.

In one example, where M is Al and y is 3, the compound of empirical formula (III) is produced according to empirical formula (IIIa) below:

as shown herein, the absence of subscripts a, b, and c in the empirical formula indicates that the subscripts are each 1, indicating that the ratio of components is 1. In this example, empirical formula (IIIa) represents the repeating monomer units (i.e., ligands) of the coordination polymer, the amplified coordination polymer structure thereby forming the flame retardant compound of the present disclosure.

In general, compounds of formula (II) or (III), which in many embodiments are amplified coordination polymers as described herein, are empirical in that they constitute all, substantially all, or at least a majority of the flame retardant product, e.g., at least 75%,85%,90%,95%,98%, or more, or any range therebetween, by weight of the flame retardant product.

Based on the metal or metal compound, the compounds of formula (II) or (III) (e.g., (IIIa)) can be experimentally produced at high conversions, such as conversions of at least 70%, 80%, 85%,90%,95%,98%, or higher, such as conversions of at least 70% to 95%. In certain of these embodiments, M is aluminum (i.e., aluminum or one or more aluminum compounds (such as those described herein) are used to produce the reaction product) or iron (i.e., iron or one or more iron compounds (such as those described herein) are used to produce the reaction product).

The phosphonic acid used in the process may be represented by formula (I)

Wherein R is H, alkyl, aryl, alkaryl, or aralkyl. In many embodiments, R is H, C _1-12 Alkyl radical, C _6-10 Aryl radical, C _7-18 Alkylaryl or C _7-18 Aralkyl, wherein the alkyl, aryl, alkaryl or aralkyl is unsubstituted or substituted by halogen, hydroxy, amino, C _1-4 Alkylamino, di-C _1-4 Alkylamino radical, C _1-4 Alkoxy, carboxyl or C _2-5 Alkoxycarbonyl is substituted. In some embodiments, the alkyl, aryl, alkaryl, or aralkyl group is unsubstituted C _1-12 Alkyl radical, C ₆ Aryl radical, C _7-10 Alkylaryl or C _7-10 Aralkyl radicals, e.g. C _1-6 Alkyl, phenyl or C _7-9 An alkaryl group. In some embodiments, R is substituted or unsubstituted C _1-6 Alkyl radical, C ₆ Aryl radical, C _7-10 Alkylaryl or C _7-12 Aralkyl radicals, e.g. C _1-4 Alkyl radical, C ₆ Aryl radical, C _7-9 Alkylaryl or C _7-10 An aralkyl group. In many casesIn an embodiment, R is unsubstituted C _1-12 Alkyl radicals, e.g. C _1-6 An alkyl group. In many embodiments, lower alkyl phosphonic acids are used, for example, methyl phosphonic acid, ethyl phosphonic acid, propyl phosphonic acid, isopropyl phosphonic acid, butyl phosphonic acid, tert-butyl phosphonic acid, and the like.

R as the alkyl group may be a straight chain or branched chain alkyl group having a specified carbon number, and includes, for example, a straight chain alkyl group such as methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl, pentyl, hexyl, heptyl, octyl, nonyl, decyl, undecyl, dodecyl, and branched chain alkyl groups such as isopropyl, isobutyl, sec-butyl, tert-butyl, ethylhexyl, tert-octyl, and the like. For example, R as an alkyl group may be selected from methyl, ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, butyl, isobutyl, sec-butyl and tert-butyl. In many embodiments, R is methyl, ethyl, propyl, or isopropyl, e.g., methyl or ethyl.

Typically, when R is aryl, it is phenyl. Examples of R as alkaryl include phenyl substituted with one or more alkyl groups such as those selected from methyl, ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, butyl, isobutyl, sec-butyl, tert-butyl, and the like. Examples of R as the aralkyl group include, for example, benzyl, phenethyl, styryl, cumyl, phenylpropyl and the like.

In many embodiments, R is selected from methyl, ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, butyl, phenyl, and benzyl.

The pyrophosphonic acid used in the present process may be represented by formula (Ia):

wherein R is the same as disclosed above for formula (I).

The general reaction scheme for pyrophosphonic acid and suitable metal compounds can be represented as:

wherein R, M, X, p, q, y, a, b and c are as described herein.

The process of the present disclosure may use more than one phosphonic acid, more than one pyrophosphonic acid, or a combination of phosphonic and pyrophosphonic acids, as long as the mixture of phosphonic and/or pyrophosphonic acids is in a molten state at the reaction temperature. In some embodiments, the phosphonic acid or pyrophosphonic acid is generated in situ. For example, phosphonic or pyrophosphonic acids can be prepared, e.g., by hydrolysis of higher oligomeric phosphonic acids and/or cyclic phosphonic anhydride starting materials.

As used herein, "suitable metal compounds" and the like refer to the formula M _p ^(+)y X _q Wherein M is a metal capable of forming a multivalent cation, e.g., a metal forming a 2+, 3+, 4+ or 5+, typically 2+, 3+ or 4+ cation, and X is any anion that provides a charge balancing compound with the metal M. Suitable examples of X include, but are not limited to, anions that form oxides, halides, alkoxides, hydroxides, carbonates, carboxylates, and phosphonates with the metal M. Metal compounds with values of p and q providing charge balance, e.g. aluminium oxide Al ₂ O ₃ . In some embodiments, unsubstituted metal M is used, as described herein. Examples of suitable metals (M) include, but are not limited to, mg, ca, ba, zn, zr, ge, B, al, si, ti, cu, fe, co, ga, bi, mn, sn or Sb. In some embodiments, M is selected from Mg, ca, ba, zn, zr, ga, B, al, si, ti, cu, fe, sn, or Sb. In some embodiments, M is selected from Mg, ca, ba, zn, zr, B, al, si, ti, fe, sn, or Sb, for example, M may be Mg, zn, ca, fe, or Al.

Suitable metal compounds include, but are not limited to, compounds having a metal-oxygen bond, a metal-nitrogen bond, a metal-halogen bond, a metal-hydrogen bond, a metal-phosphorus bond, a metal-sulfur bond, a metal-boron bond, and the like, for example, oxides, halides, alkoxides, hydroxides, carboxylates, carbonates, phosphonates, phosphinates, phosphonites, phosphates, phosphites, nitrates, nitrites, borates, hydrides, sulfonates, sulfates, sulfides, and the like of Mg, ca, ba, zn, zr, ga, B, al, si, ti, cu, fe, sn, or Sb, for example; such as an oxide, hydroxide, halide or alkoxide of Mg, ca, ba, zn, zr, B, al, si, ti, fe, sn or Sb, for example, an oxide, hydroxide, halide or alkoxide of Mg, zn, ca, fe or Al.

In some embodiments, the metal M of the metal or suitable metal compound is aluminum or iron. In some embodiments, suitable metal compounds are selected from the group consisting of halides, oxides, hydroxides, alkoxides, carbonates, carboxylates, and phosphonates of aluminum. In some embodiments, suitable metal compounds are selected from halides, oxides, hydroxides, and alkoxides of aluminum. In some embodiments, suitable metal compounds are selected from the group consisting of aluminum oxide, aluminum trichloride, aluminum hydroxide, aluminum isopropoxide, aluminum carbonate, and aluminum acetate. In other embodiments, suitable metal compounds are selected from the group consisting of iron halides, oxides, alkoxides, carbonates, and acetates. In some embodiments, suitable metal compounds are selected from iron (III) oxide, iron (III) chloride, iron (III) isopropoxide, and iron (III) acetate.

In certain embodiments, R is methyl, ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, or butyl, and M is Al, fe, zn, or Ca. In further embodiments, X is oxygen, hydroxy, alkoxy, or halogen.

The reactions described herein may be, but are not necessarily, carried out under reduced pressure or vacuum.

The product reaction mixture (typically presented as a slurry) formed from the reactions described herein may be combined with a liquid (e.g., water) and agitated as necessary to break up any lumps that may have formed. The solid product may be isolated by filtration, optionally washed and dried to produce a product in the form of a powder or small particles. In some cases, the product may be sieved to refine particle size.

The reaction described herein may optionally be facilitated with seed material (seed material). For example, the use of seed materials may reduce the time to effect conversion into a flame retardant product and may result in improved consistency of physical properties of the product. Typically, the seed material is added to the reaction mixture at or after heating to the reaction temperature. In some embodiments, the seed material comprises a flame retardant material produced according to the methods of the present disclosure, such as a flame retardant compound of empirical formula (II), (III), or (IIIa) described herein. The seed material may be selected or refined to have a desired particle size.

In some embodiments, a suitable metal compound is alumina, and the flame retardant material is produced as follows:

in one embodiment, a phosphonic acid such as C ₁ -C ₁₂ An alkylphosphonic acid (e.g., methyl, ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, butyl, or tert-butylphosphonic acid) is heated to or above its melting point of 105 ℃, e.g., to 115 ℃, 125 ℃, 140 ℃, 150 ℃, 160 ℃, 180 ℃, 200 ℃, 220 ℃, or 240 ℃ or higher, and once molten, is stirred (e.g., under nitrogen). With stirring, an oxide, hydroxide, halide, alkoxide, carbonate, or carboxylate of Al, such as alumina, aluminum trichloride, aluminum hydroxide, aluminum isopropoxide, aluminum carbonate, or aluminum acetate, is added in stoichiometric excess of a phosphonic acid, such as in a molar ratio of phosphonic acid to metal compound described herein, such as 5:1 or higher, 10 or higher, or 15 or higher. Typically, a slurry is formed as the reaction proceeds, and the solid flame retardant product may be isolated, for example by filtration, washing, etc., to obtain the product in the form of a powder or small particles. The product reaction mixture may be subjected to additional work-up prior to isolation of the solid product, such as cooling the product reaction mixture to above or below the melting point of the excess phosphonic acid and combining with a liquid, such as water, and optionally stirring as above. The solid flame retardant product can be isolated by filtration, optionally washed with additional solvent and dried to obtain the product in the form of a powder or small particles. The flame retardant product comprises phosphorus and aluminum in a ratio of 4:1 according to the empirical formula:

in a further example, the examples described directly above are carried out with iron or a suitable iron compound such as a halide, oxide, alkoxide, carbonate or acetate of iron, for example iron (III) oxide, iron (III) chloride, iron (III) isopropoxide or iron (III) acetate. The flame retardant product comprises phosphorus and iron in a ratio of 4:1 according to the empirical formula:

typically, the compound of the above empirical formula (which in many embodiments is an amplified coordination polymer described herein) constitutes all, substantially all, or at least a majority of the flame retardant product, such as at least 75%,85%,90%,95%,98% or more, or any range therebetween, by weight of the flame retardant product.

In some embodiments, a suitable metal compound is a metal phosphonate. As described herein, the metal in the metal phosphonate can be metal M. Suitable metal compounds may be metal phosphonates of the formula:

wherein R and M are as described above, p is a number from 2 to 5, e.g., 2, 3 or 4, and y is a number from 2 to 5, e.g., 2, 3 or 4, such that M ^(+)y Is a metal cation, where (+) y represents the charge formally assigned to the cation. Typically, the metal phosphonate is charge balanced (i.e., p = y). The metal phosphonates may be prepared according to methods known in the art.

In some embodiments, the metal phosphonate is prepared from a reaction of an initial metal compound and a phosphonic acid with a solvent (e.g., water) for the phosphonic acid. The initial metal compound may be a compound of a suitable metal compound according to the description herein. In some embodiments, the initial metal compound and the phosphonic acid are reacted at room temperature or at a temperature of about room temperature or at a temperature in the range of about 0 to about 20 ℃. The resulting metal phosphonate can then be used as a suitable metal compound according to the process of the invention herein.

For example, a phosphonic acid such as an alkyl phosphonic acid (e.g., methyl, ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, butyl, or tert-butyl phosphonic acid) and a solvent (e.g., water) can be stirred to form a homogeneous solution. Any suitable ratio of water to phosphonic acid may be used, for example, 10-1, more typically 5:1-1:5 by weight, and good results have been achieved using a mixture of 2:1-1:2. The solution may be cooled, for example, to a temperature in the range of from about 0 to about 20 c and an initial metal compound, such as a metal oxide, halide, alkoxide or hydroxide, added to react with the phosphonic acid. Metal phosphonates are formed and then used as suitable metal compounds according to the methods of the present disclosure. For example, in a separate reactor, a molar excess of phosphonic acid described herein (e.g., in a molar ratio of phosphonic acid to metal phosphonate of 5:1) is preheated to a molten state and reacted with the metal phosphonate to form a flame retardant product. In embodiments involving aluminum phosphonates as suitable metal compounds, the flame retardant product comprises phosphorus and aluminum at a phosphorus to aluminum ratio of 4:1 according to the empirical formula:

typically, the compound of the empirical formula (which in many embodiments is an amplified coordination polymer described herein) constitutes all, substantially all, or at least a majority of the flame retardant product, e.g., at least 75%,85%,90%,95%,98%, or more, or any range therebetween, by weight of the flame retardant product.

The flame retardants of the present invention may be used with a variety of other flame retardants and/or synergists or flame retardant aids known in the art. For example, the flame retardant of the present invention may be formulated with one or more materials selected from the group consisting of: carbon black, graphite, carbon nanotubes, siloxanes, polysiloxanes; polyphenylene Ether (PPE), phosphine oxides and polyoxyphosphines, for example, benzylphosphine oxide, polybenzylphosphine oxide, and the like;

melamine, melamine derivatives and melamine condensation products, melamine salts such as, but not limited to, melamine cyanurate, melamine borate, melamine phosphate, melamine metal phosphate, melam, melem, melon (melon), and the like;

inorganic compounds including clays, metal salts such as hydroxides, oxides, hydrated oxides, borates, carbonates, sulfates, phosphates, phosphites, hypophosphites, silicates, mixed metal salts and the like, for example, talc and other magnesium silicates, calcium silicate, aluminosilicates as hollow tubes (DRAGONITE), calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate, barium sulfate, calcium sulfate, HALLOYSITE (halloyite) or boron phosphate, calcium molybdate, exfoliated vermiculite, zinc stannate, zinc hydroxystannate, zinc sulfide and zinc borate, zinc molybdate (or complexes thereof, for example, kemgard B), zinc molybdate/magnesium hydroxide complexes (for example, kemgard MZM), zinc molybdate/magnesium silicate complex (Kemgard 911C), calcium molybdate/zinc complexes (for example, kemgard 911A), zinc phosphate (or complexes thereof, for example, kemgard 981), magnesium oxide or magnesium hydroxide, aluminum oxide, aluminum hydroxide (boehmite), aluminum trihydrate (aluminumdium trihydrate, aluminum hydroxide), silica, tin oxide (tinoxide), antimony oxide (III) and antimony oxide (V), and zirconium hydroxide (titanium oxide, zirconium oxide and/zirconium oxide hydrate oxides and the like.

Unless otherwise indicated, in the context of the present application, the term "phosphate" when used as a component in a "phosphate", such as a metal phosphate, melamine metal phosphate, etc., refers to a phosphate, hydrogen phosphate, dihydrogen phosphate, pyrophosphate, polyphosphate, or a phosphate condensation product anion or polyanion (polyvalent anion).

Likewise, unless otherwise indicated, in the context of the present application, the term "phosphite" when used as a component in "phosphites", such as metal phosphites and the like, refers to either phosphite or hydrogen phosphite.

The flame retardants of the invention may also be formulated with other flame retardants such as halogenated flame retardants, alkyl or aryl phosphine oxide flame retardants, alkyl or aryl phosphate (alkyl or aryl phosphate) flame retardants, alkyl or aryl phosphonates (alkyl or aryl phosphonates), alkyl or aryl phosphinates (alkyl or aryl phosphinates) and salts of alkyl or aryl phosphinic acids. In some embodiments, the flame retardant comprises a mixture of a flame retardant according to the present disclosure and an aluminum phosphinate salt of the formula (e.g., aluminum tris (dialkylphosphinate),

R ¹ and R ² Each independently may be a group according to R as described herein, M is a metal as described herein (e.g., al or Ca), and n is a number from 2 to 7, e.g., from 2 to 4, typically 2 or 3.

In many embodiments, a flame retardant polymer composition according to the present disclosure comprises (i) a polymer, (ii) a flame retardant material of the present disclosure, and (iii) one or more other flame retardants and/or one or more synergists or flame retardant aids.

For example, in some embodiments, the flame retardant polymer composition comprises one or more additional flame retardants, for example, halogenated flame retardants, phosphine oxide flame retardants, alkyl or aryl phosphonates, or salts of alkyl or aryl phosphinates, for example, aluminum tris (dialkylphosphinate), such as aluminum tris (diethylphosphinate).

In some embodiments, the flame retardant polymer composition comprises one or more synergists or flame retardant aids, for example, melamine derivatives and melamine condensation products (e.g., melam, melem, melon amine), melamine salts, phosphine oxides and polyoxyphosphines, metal salts such as hydroxides, oxides, hydrated oxides, borates, phosphates, phosphonates, phosphites, silicates, and the like, for example, aluminum hydrogen phosphite, melem, or melamine metal phosphates, for example, melamine metal phosphates, wherein the metal comprises aluminum, magnesium, or zinc. In particular embodiments, the one or more additional flame retardants, synergists or flame retardant aids include aluminum tris (dialkylphosphinate), aluminum hydrogen phosphite, methylene diphenylphosphine oxide substituted polyarylethers, xylylene bis (diphenylphosphine oxide), 4,4 '-bis (diphenylphosphinomethyl) -1,1' -biphenyl, ethylene bis-1,2-bis- (9,10-dihydro-9-oxa-10-phosphaphenanthrene-10-oxide) ethane, melem, melam, melon amine, or dimelamine zinc pyrophosphate.

Certain embodiments provide halogen-free polymer compositions. In such embodiments, halogen-containing flame retardants or synergists would be excluded as much as possible.

The flame retardant materials of the present disclosure can be combined with other flame retardants, synergists, or adjuvants in a weight ratio of the flame retardant of the present invention within the range of 100 to 1. In some embodiments, the flame retardant materials of the present disclosure are present in a weight ratio of the inventive flame retardant in the range of 10 to 1 to 10 to the total weight of the other flame retardants, synergists, and/or adjuvants, e.g., in the range of 7:1-1. The flame retardant of the invention is typically the major component of such a combination, such as the ratio of the weight of the flame retardant of the invention to the total weight of other flame retardants, synergists and/or adjuvants of 10 to 1.2, or the ratio of the weight of the flame retardant of the invention to the total weight of other flame retardants, synergists and/or adjuvants of 7:1 to 2:1, but the material of the invention may also be a minor component of a mixture, for example, the ratio of 1 to 1.2 or the ratio of 3532 to 1:2, for example, the ratio of 1.

The thermally stable flame retardant of the present invention can be compounded into thermoplastic polymers, e.g., high temperature polyamides and polyterephthalates, at high temperatures without decomposing or adversely affecting the physical properties of the polymers, and is excellent in flame retardant activity. The flame retardant of the invention can be used with other synergists and conventional polymer additives for other polymers.

The polymer of the flame retardant composition of the invention may be any polymer known in the art, such as polyolefin homo-and copolymers, rubbers, polyesters including polyalkylene terephthalates, epoxy resins, polyurethanes, polysulfones, polyimides, polyphenylene ethers, styrenic polymers and copolymers, polycarbonates, acrylic polymers, polyamides, polyacetals and biodegradable polymers. Mixtures of different polymers may also be used, such as polyphenylene ether/styrenic resin blends, polyvinyl chloride/Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) or other impact modifying polymers such as methacrylonitrile and alpha-methylstyrene containing ABS, as well as polyester/ABS or polycarbonate/ABS and polyester or polystyrene plus some other impact modifier. Such polymers can be obtained commercially or prepared by methods well known in the art.

The flame retardants of the present invention are particularly useful in thermoplastic polymers that are processed and/or used at high temperatures, for example, styrenic polymers including High Impact Polystyrene (HIPS), polyolefins, polyesters, polycarbonates, polyamides, polyurethanes, polyphenylene ethers, and the like.

For example, the polymer may be a polyester resin, a styrene resin, a polyamide resin, a polycarbonate resin, a polyphenylene ether resin, a vinyl resin, an olefin resin, an acrylic resin, an epoxy resin, or a polyurethane. The polymer may be a thermoplastic or thermoset resin and may be reinforced, for example, glass reinforced. In some embodiments, the polymer is a thermoplastic polyurethane. In some embodiments, the polymer is a thermosetting epoxy resin. More than one polymer resin may be present. In particular embodiments, the polymer is an engineering polymer, e.g., a thermoplastic or reinforced thermoplastic polymer, e.g., a glass-reinforced thermoplastic polymer, such as optionally a glass-filled polyester, epoxy, or polyamide, e.g., a glass-filled polyester such as a glass-filled polyalkylene terephthalate or a glass-filled polyamide.

The polyester-series resin includes homo-and co-polyesters obtained by, for example, polycondensation of a dicarboxylic acid component and a diol component and polycondensation of a hydroxycarboxylic acid or lactone component, for example, an aromatic saturated polyester-series resin such as polybutylene terephthalate or polyethylene terephthalate.

Polyamide (PA) series resins include polyamides derived from diamines and dicarboxylic acids; polyamides obtained from aminocarboxylic acids, optionally in combination with diamines and/or dicarboxylic acids; and polyamides derived from lactams, optionally in combination with diamines and/or dicarboxylic acids. The polyamide also includes copolyamides derived from at least two different types of polyamide constituent components. Examples of the polyamide-series resin include aliphatic polyamides such as PA46, PA6, PA66, PA610, PA 612, PA 11 and PA 12, polyamides obtained from aromatic dicarboxylic acids such as terephthalic acid and/or isophthalic acid and aliphatic diamines such as hexamethylenediamine or nonanediamine, polyamides obtained from both aromatic and aliphatic dicarboxylic acids such as terephthalic acid and adipic acid and aliphatic diamines such as hexamethylenediamine, and the like. These polyamides may be used alone or in combination. In some embodiments, the polymer comprises PA 6. In some embodiments, the polymer comprises PA66. In some embodiments, the polymer comprises polyphthalamide.

Polyamides having a melting point of at least 280 ℃ are widely used for the production of molding compositions which make it possible to produce molded articles (for example, for the electrical and electronics industry) which have excellent dimensional stability at high temperatures and very good flame-retardant properties. For example, there is a need in the electronics industry for molding compositions of this type for producing components which are mounted on printed circuit boards according to the so-called surface-mount technology SMT. In this application, these components must withstand temperatures of up to 270 ℃ for short periods of time without dimensional changes.

Such high temperature polyamides include certain polyamides produced from alkyl diamines and diacids such as polyamide 4,6, however, many high temperature polyamides are aromatic and semi-aromatic polyamides, i.e., homopolymers, copolymers, terpolymers or higher polymers derived from monomers containing aromatic groups. A single aromatic or semi-aromatic polyamide may be used, or a blend of aromatic and/or semi-aromatic polyamides may be used. Blends of the aforementioned polyamides and polyamide blends with other polymers, including aliphatic polyamides, are also possible.

Examples of such high temperature aromatic or semi-aromatic polyamides include polyamide 4T, poly (m-xylylene adipamide) (polyamide MXD, 6), poly (decaxylylene terephthalamide) (polyamide 12, T), poly (decamethyleneterephthalamide) (polyamide 10, T), poly (nonanediyl terephthalamide) (polyamide 9,T), hexamethylene adipamide/hexamethylene terephthalamide copolyamide (polyamide 6,T/6,6), hexamethylene terephthalamide/2-methylpentamethylene terephthalamide copolyamide (polyamide 6,T/D, T), hexamethylene adipamide/hexamethylene terephthalamide/m-hexamethylene isophthalamide copolyamide (polyamide 6,6/6,T/6,I), poly (caprolactam-hexamethylene terephthalamide) (polyamide 6/6,T), hexamethylene terephthalamide/m-hexamethylene terephthalamide (6,T/6,I) copolymers, and the like.

Accordingly, certain embodiments of the present invention are directed to compositions comprising a polyamide, such as polyamide 4,6, and the aromatic and semi-aromatic polyamides described above, melted at an elevated temperature, such as 280 ℃ or greater, 300 ℃ or greater, in some embodiments 320 ℃ or greater, for example, 280 to 340 ℃, articles comprising a high temperature polyamide and the flame retardant material of the present invention, methods for making the compositions, and methods for forming the articles.

As described herein, in many embodiments of the present disclosure, a flame retardant polymer composition comprises (i) a polymer, (ii) a flame retardant of the present disclosure, and (iii) one or more other flame retardants and/or one or more synergists or flame retardant aids. Thus, although flame retardant (ii) alone exhibits excellent activity in a polymer system, it may be used in combination with (iii) one or more compounds selected from other flame retardants, synergists and adjuvants. Exemplary compounds (iii) include halogenated flame retardants, alkyl or aryl phosphine oxides, alkyl or aryl poly phosphine oxides, alkyl or aryl phosphate esters, alkyl or aryl phosphonate esters, alkyl or aryl phosphinate esters, salts of alkyl or aryl phosphinate acids, carbon black, graphite, carbon nanotubes, siloxanes, polysiloxanes, polyphenylene ethers, melamine derivatives, melamine condensation products, melamine salts, metal hydroxides, metal oxides, metal hydrous oxides, metal borates, metal carbonates, metal sulfates, metal phosphates, metal phosphonates, metal phosphites, metal phosphinates, metal silicates, and mixed metal salts. For example, the one or more compounds (III) may be selected from the group consisting of aluminum tris (dialkylphosphinate), aluminum hydrogenphosphite, benzylphosphine oxide, poly-benzylphosphine oxide, melam, melem, melon amine, melamine phosphate, melamine metal phosphate, melamine cyanurate, melamine borate, talc, clay, calcium silicate, aluminosilicate as a hollow tube, aluminosilicate, calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate, barium sulfate, calcium sulfate, boron phosphate, calcium molybdate, exfoliated vermiculite, zinc stannate, zinc hydroxystannate, zinc sulfide, zinc borate, zinc molybdate, zinc phosphate, magnesium oxide, magnesium hydroxide, aluminum oxide, aluminum hydroxide oxide, aluminum trihydrate, silica, tin oxide, antimony oxide (III and V), antimony (III and V) hydrated oxide, titanium oxide, zinc hydrated oxide, zirconium oxide, and zirconium hydroxide. For example, the one or more compounds (iii) may be selected from aluminum tris (dimethylphosphinate), aluminum tris (diethylphosphinate), aluminum tris (dipropylphosphinate), aluminum tris (dibutylphosphinate), methylene diphenylphosphine oxide-substituted polyarylethers, xylylene bis (diphenylphosphine oxide), 1,2-bis- (9,10-dihydro-9-oxo-10-phosphaphenanthrene-10-oxide) ethane, 4,4 '-bis (diphenylphosphinomethyl) -1,1' -biphenyl, melam, melem, melon amine, and dimelamine zinc pyrophosphate.

In some embodiments, the flame retardant synergist comprises a material selected from the group consisting of: melam, melem, melon, melamine cyanurate, melamine polyphosphate, and melamine-poly (metal phosphate) (e.g., melamine-poly (zinc phosphate) (Safire 400)). In some embodiments, the potentiator comprises a triazine-based compound, such as the reaction product of trichlorotriazine, piperazine, and morpholine, for example, poly- [2,4- (piperazine-1,4-yl) -6- (morpholin-4-yl) -1,3,5-triazine]Piperazine (I)

PPM triazine HF). In some embodiments, the potentiator comprises a metal hypophosphite such as aluminum hypophosphite (e.g., italmatch)

IP-A). In some embodiments, the synergist comprises an organic phosphinate, such as a dialkylAluminum phosphinates, such as aluminum diethylphosphinate (Exolit OP).

In some embodiments, the flame retardant polymer composition comprises one or more compounds selected from the group consisting of hydrotalcite clays, metal borates, metal oxides, and metal hydroxides, such as metal borates, metal oxides, or metal hydroxides where the metal is zinc or calcium.

The concentration of the flame retardant of the present invention in the polymer composition will, of course, depend on the precise chemical composition of the flame retardant, polymer and other components found in the final polymer composition. For example, when used as the sole flame retardant component of a polymeric formulation, the flame retardant of the present invention may be present at a concentration of 1% to 50%, e.g., 1% to 30%, based on the total weight of the final composition. Typically, when used as the sole flame retardant, at least 2%, e.g., 3% or more, 5% or more, 10% or more, 15% or more, 20% or more, or 25% or more of the material of the present invention will be present. In many embodiments, the flame retardant of the present invention is present in an amount up to 45%, while in other embodiments the amount of the flame retardant of the present invention comprises 40% or less, for example, 35% or less, of the polymer composition. When used in combination with other flame retardants or flame retardant synergists, the materials of the present invention may require less.

Any known compounding technique can be used to prepare the flame retardant polymer compositions of the present disclosure, e.g., the flame retardant can be incorporated into the molten polymer by blending, extrusion, fiber forming, film forming, or the like. In some cases, the flame retardant is incorporated into the polymer as it is formed or cured, for example, the flame retardant of the present invention may be added to the polyurethane prepolymer prior to crosslinking, or it may be added to the polyamine or alkylpolycarboxyl compound prior to polyamide formation, or to the epoxy mixture prior to curing.

The flame retardant polymer composition of the present invention will generally comprise one or more conventional stabilizers or other additives commonly encountered in the art, such as phenolic antioxidants, hindered Amine Light Stabilizers (HALS), ultraviolet light absorbers, phosphites, phosphonites, alkali metal salts of fatty acids, hydrotalcites, metal oxides, borates, epoxidized soybean oil, hydroxylamines, tertiary amine oxides, lactones, thermal reaction products of tertiary amine oxides, thiosynergists, basic co-stabilizers, e.g., melamine, melem, etc., polyvinylpyrrolidone, dicyandiamide, triallyl cyanurate, urea derivatives, hydrazine derivatives, amines, polyamides, polyurethanes, hydrotalcites, alkali metal salts and alkaline earth metal salts of higher fatty acids, e.g., calcium stearate, calcium stearoyl lactate, zinc stearate, zinc octoate, magnesium stearate, sodium ricinoleate and potassium palmitate, antimony pyrocatecholate or zinc pyrocatecholate, nucleating agents, clarifying agents, and the like.

Other additives may also be present, for example, plasticizers, lubricants, emulsifiers, pigments, dyes, optical brighteners, other flame retardants, antistatic agents, blowing agents, anti-drip agents, e.g., PTFE, and the like.

Alternatively, the polymer may include fillers and reinforcing agents, for example, calcium carbonate, silicates, glass fibers, talc, kaolin, mica, barium sulfate, metal oxides and hydroxides, carbon black and graphite. Such fillers and reinforcing agents may generally be present in relatively high concentrations, including formulations in which the fillers or reinforcing agents are present at concentrations in excess of 50wt%, based on the weight of the final composition. More typically, the fillers and reinforcing agents are present at about 5wt% to about 50wt%, for example, about 10wt% to about 40wt%, or about 15wt% to about 30wt%, based on the weight of the total polymer composition.

In some embodiments, the flame retardant polymer compositions of the present disclosure are formulated with any one or more materials selected from the group consisting of: carbon black, graphite, carbon nanotubes, siloxane, polysiloxane, talc, calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate, barium sulfate, calcium silicate, magnesium silicate, aluminosilicate hollow tubes (Dragonite), halloysite, boron phosphate, calcium molybdate, exfoliated vermiculite, zinc stannate, zinc hydroxystannate, zinc sulfide, zinc borate, zinc molybdate (or a complex thereof, e.g., kemgard 911B), a zinc molybdate/magnesium hydroxide complex (e.g., kemgard MZM), a zinc molybdate/magnesium silicate complex (Kemgard 911C), a calcium molybdate/zinc complex (e.g., kemgard 911A), zinc phosphate (or a complex thereof, e.g., kemgard 981), and the like;

hydroxides, oxides and hydrated oxides of group 2,4, 12, 13, 14, 15 (metalloid) metals such as magnesium oxide or hydroxide, aluminum oxide, aluminum oxyhydroxide (boehmite), aluminum trihydrate, silica, silicates, tin oxide, antimony oxides (III and V) and hydrated oxides, titanium and zinc oxides or hydrated oxides, zirconium oxide and/or hydroxide, and the like; melamine and urea-based resins such as melamine cyanurate, melamine borate, melamine polyphosphate, melamine pyrophosphate, polyphenylene ether (PPE), and the like; and clays, including hydrotalcite, boehmite, kaolin, mica, montmorillonite, wollastonite, nanoclays or organically modified nanoclays, and the like.

In some embodiments, the flame retardant polymer compositions of the present disclosure are formulated with any one or more materials selected from the group consisting of: zinc borate, zinc stannate, polysiloxane, kaolin, silica, magnesium hydroxide, zinc molybdate complexes (e.g., kemgard 911B), zinc molybdate/magnesium hydroxide complexes (e.g., kemgard MZM), zinc molybdate/magnesium silicate complexes (Kemgard 911C), calcium molybdate/zinc complexes (e.g., kemgard 911A), zinc phosphate complexes (e.g., kemgard 981), and melamine-poly (metal phosphate) (e.g., melamine-poly (zinc phosphate) (Safire 400)).

In some embodiments, in addition to the polymer of the present disclosure (as described herein) and the flame retardant, the flame retardant polymer composition comprises melam and any one or more materials selected from the group consisting of zinc borate, zinc stannate, zinc molybdate complex, zinc molybdate/magnesium hydroxide complex, zinc molybdate/magnesium silicate complex, calcium molybdate/zinc complex, zinc phosphate complex, and zinc oxide, optionally with additional additives as described herein.

In some embodiments, in addition to the polymer (as described herein) and the flame retardant of the present disclosure, the flame retardant polymer composition comprises melon amine and any one or more materials selected from the group consisting of zinc borate, zinc stannate, zinc molybdate complex, zinc molybdate/magnesium hydroxide complex, zinc molybdate/magnesium silicate complex, calcium molybdate/zinc complex, zinc phosphate complex, and zinc oxide, optionally with additional additives as described herein.

Further non-limiting disclosure is provided in the following examples.

Examples

Example 1

A three-necked 250mL flask was charged with 114.6g of methylphosphonic acid, which was then heated. Melting of methylphosphonic acid at 105 ℃ and reaction under N ₂ Vigorous stirring was started under the protective layer. Methylphosphonic acid was heated to 240 ℃ and 7.78g of alumina was added as quickly as possible without causing a large exotherm. The slurry was cooled until it was just above the melting point of the excess methylphosphonic acid-110 deg.C and then added to 250mL of H ₂ O while ensuring that the rate of addition does not cause excessive steam formation. The resulting mixture was stirred to break up any lumps that may have formed, the product was isolated by filtration, and an additional 750mL of H was used ₂ O washed and dried to yield 45.08g of colorless fine crystals of the product in 87% yield. The above product empirical formula represents the repeating monomer units (i.e., ligands) of the coordination polymer that form a pure crystalline product. Figure 1 shows the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of the product.

Example 2

A three-necked 250mL flask was charged with 149.8g of ethylphosphonic acid and heated to 62 ℃ to melt. Vigorous stirring was started under a blanket of nitrogen, the ethylphosphonic acid was heated to 240 ℃ and 6.9g of alumina was added as quickly as possible without causing a large exotherm. The slurry was cooled to-80 ℃ and then added to 250mL of H ₂ O while ensuring that the rate of addition does not cause excessive steam formation. Stirring the resulting mixture to breakAny lumps that may have formed, the product is isolated by filtration, using an additional 750mL of H ₂ O washed and dried to yield 49.07g of colorless fine crystalline product in 84% yield. The above product is an empirical representation of the repeating monomer units (i.e., ligands) of the coordination polymer forming a pure crystalline product.

Example 3

The resin kettle was charged with 83g of methylphosphonic acid and heated to 120 ℃. An intermediate material prepared from 50g of methylphosphonic acid and 35.4g of aluminum tris (isopropoxide) in the presence of water was added to the resin kettle as a slurry (syrup). The resulting solution, containing 5:1 molar ratio of methylphosphonic acid to aluminum methylphosphonate intermediate, was heated to 240 ℃ with mechanical stirring. After the solid had formed, stirring was continued at 240 ℃ for about 30min. 500mL of H was added ₂ O, and stirring the mixture for 16h while preparing a uniform slurry. The product was isolated by filtration as above, using an additional 750mL of H ₂ O washed and dried to yield 64.3g of colorless fine crystalline product in 93% yield. The above product is an empirical representation of the repeating monomer units (i.e., ligands) of the coordination polymer forming a pure crystalline product.

Example 4

A three-necked 1L flask was charged with 1305g of methylphosphonic acid, which was then heated. At 105 ℃, methylphosphonic acid melted and vigorous stirring was started under vacuum. The methylphosphonic acid was heated to 180 ℃ and 61g of alumina was added as quickly as possible without causing a large exotherm or excessive foaming. The slurry was cooled until it was just above the melting point of the excess methylphosphonic acid-110 deg.C and then added to 1L H ₂ O while ensuring that the rate of addition does not cause excessive steam formation. The resulting mixture was stirred to break up any lumps that may have formed and the product was isolated by filtration, using an additional 1.5L H ₂ O washed and dried to yield 408g of colorless fine crystalline product in 84% yield. The above product is an empirical representation of the repeating monomer units (i.e., ligands) of the coordination polymer forming a pure crystalline product.

The product of each of examples 1-4 had a P/Al ratio of 4:1 (ICP elemental analysis).

Example 5

A1L reaction vessel was charged with 1412.6g of methylphosphonic acid and then heated to 165 ℃ with nitrogen purge (4L/min) at 250RPM with stirring. 78.2g of iron oxide (iron oxide) were added in portions without causing a large exotherm. The reaction mixture was heated at 165 ℃ for about 24 hours. The product reaction mixture containing the off-white slurry product was then cooled to about 130 ℃ and poured into 1.5L of water in a beaker placed in an ice-water bath to cool. The product was isolated by filtration, washed with an additional 500mL x 3 water, and dried to yield off-white fine crystals in 83% yield. The product had a phosphorus to iron ratio (ICP elemental analysis) of 4:1 according to the empirical formula:

the above product is an empirical representation of the repeating monomer units (i.e., ligands) of the coordination polymer forming a pure crystalline product.

Example 6

A polymer composition was prepared and evaluated for flame retardant activity under the UL-94 test. For polyamide 6,6 containing the flame retardant produced according to examples 1,3 and 4 above (shown below); polyamide 6; glass filled polymer compositions of polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) and high temperature polyamide, measured as UL-94V-0 rating at 0.8mm thickness:

compositions rated at UL-94V-0 at Table 1.0.8 mm

Base material	Glass fiber	FR of the invention	Melam	Melamine cyanurate
					PA6,6	30％	12.5％	10％	-
PA6	25％	15％	-	10％
					PBT	25％	15％	15％	-
High temperature nylon	25％	18％	-	-

Additional polymer compositions comprising the flame retardants produced according to examples 1,3 and 4 above in combination with various synergists in glass-filled PA66, PBT and polyphthalamide were prepared and evaluated in the UL-94 test at a thickness of 0.8 mm. The results are provided in table 2 (PA 66), table 3 (PBT) and table 4 (polyphthalamide). Samples 15, 20 and 22, which did not contain the flame retardant of the present invention, failed the UL-94 test.

TABLE 2 PA66

TABLE 3 PBT

Sample formulation	16	17	18	19	20
						PBT wt％	50	50	50	45	75
Glass wt%	25	25	25	25	25
						FR wt% of the invention	15	16	15	15	-
Melam wt.%	10	9	9	15	-
						Polysiloxane wt.%	-	-	1	-	-
UL 94@1/32″	V-0	V-0	V-0	V-0	Failed through

TABLE 4 polyphthalamides (high temperature polyamides)

Sample formulation	21	22
			Polyphthalamide wt%	57	70
Glass wt%	25	30
			FR wt% of the invention	18	-
UL 94@1/32″	V-0	Failed through

Example 7

A polymer composition comprising a flame retardant according to example 5 above in PA66 was prepared and evaluated for flame retardant activity in UL-94 testing at a thickness of 0.8 mm. The results are provided in table 5. Sample 24, which did not contain the flame retardant of the present invention, failed the UL-94 test.

TABLE 5 PA66

Sample formulation	23	24
			PA 66wt％	45	70
Glass wt%	30	30
			FR wt% of the invention	15	-
Melam wt.%	10	-
			UL 94@1/32″(0.8mm)	V-0	Failed through

While particular embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that, in view of the present disclosure and practice, various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the claimed invention. It is intended, therefore, that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope of the disclosure being indicated by the following claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A process for the production of phosphorus-containing flame retardants comprising reacting a mixture comprising a metal or a suitable metal compound and a stoichiometric excess of an unsubstituted or alkyl-or aryl-substituted phosphonic acid relative to the metal or suitable metal compound at a reaction temperature, wherein:

-the metal is capable of forming a multivalent cation, or the suitable metal compound is of formula M _p ^(+)y X _q A metal compound represented by formula (I), wherein M is a metal, (+) y represents the charge of a metal cation, y is 2 or higher, X is an anion, and the values of p and q provide charge balance;

-the molar ratio of the unsubstituted or alkyl or aryl substituted phosphonic acid to the metal or suitable metal compound in the mixture is greater than 4:1;

-the reaction temperature is 105 ℃ or higher; and is provided with

-said unsubstituted or alkyl or aryl substituted phosphonic acid is in a molten state at said reaction temperature.

2. A process for producing a phosphorus-containing flame retardant comprising reacting a mixture comprising a metal or a suitable metal compound and a stoichiometric excess of unsubstituted or alkyl-or aryl-substituted pyrophosphonic acid, relative to the metal or suitable metal compound, at a reaction temperature, wherein:

-the molar ratio of the unsubstituted or alkyl or aryl substituted pyrophosphonic acid to the metal or suitable metal compound in the mixture is greater than 2:1; and is provided with

-said unsubstituted or alkyl-or aryl-substituted pyrophosphonic acid is in a molten state at said reaction temperature.

3. The process of claim 1, wherein the reaction temperature is 150 ℃ or greater.

4. The process of claim 1, wherein the reaction temperature is in the range of 140 ℃ to 260 ℃.

5. The process of claim 2, wherein the reaction temperature is 40 ℃ or greater.

6. The process of claim 2, wherein the reaction temperature is in the range of 60 ℃ to 260 ℃.

7. The method of any one of claims 1,3, and 4, wherein the molar ratio is 8:1 or greater.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the molar ratio is in the range of 10.

9. The method of any one of claims 2, 5, and 6, wherein the molar ratio is 4:1 or higher.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the molar ratio is in the range of 5:1-25.

11. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the mixture comprises a metal capable of forming a 2+, 3+, or 4+ multivalent cation.

12. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the mixture comprises a compound of formula M _p ^(+)y X _q The suitable metal compounds of (a) wherein M is a metal, (+) y represents the charge of the metal cation, y is 2, 3 or 4,X is an anion, and the values of p and q provide a charge balanced metal compound.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein y is 3.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein M is selected from Al, ga, sb, fe, co, B, and Bi.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein M is Al or Fe.

16. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the reaction mixture comprises the suitable metal compound and the suitable metal compound is selected from a metal oxide, halide, alkoxide, hydroxide, carbonate, carboxylate, or phosphonate.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein formula M _p ^(+)y X _q M in (1) is Al or Fe.

18. The process of claim 17, wherein the suitable metal compound is selected from the group consisting of aluminum oxide, aluminum trichloride, aluminum hydroxide, aluminum isopropoxide, aluminum carbonate, aluminum acetate, iron (III) oxide, iron (III) chloride, iron (III) isopropoxide, and iron (III) acetate.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the unsubstituted or alkyl or aryl substituted phosphonic acid is represented by formula (I)

Wherein R is H, C _1-12 Alkyl radical, C _6-10 Aryl radical, C _7-18 Alkylaryl or C _7-18 Aralkyl, wherein alkyl, aryl, alkaryl or aralkyl is unsubstituted or substituted by halogen, hydroxy, amino, C _1-4 Alkylamino, di-C _1-4 Alkylamino radical, C _1-4 Alkoxy, carboxyl or C _2-5 Alkoxycarbonyl is substituted.

20. The method of claim 2, wherein the unsubstituted or alkyl or aryl substituted pyrophosphonic acid is represented by formula (Ia)

Wherein R is H, C _1-12 Alkyl radical, C _6-10 Aryl radical, C _7-18 Alkaryl or C _7-18 Aralkyl, wherein alkyl, aryl, alkaryl or aralkyl is unsubstituted or substituted by halogen, hydroxy, amino, C _1-4 Alkylamino radical, di-C _1-4 Alkylamino radical, C _1-4 Alkoxy, carboxyl or C _2-5 Alkoxycarbonyl is substituted.

21. The method of claim 19 or 20, wherein R is unsubstituted C _1-12 Alkyl radical, C ₆ Aryl radical, C _7-10 Alkylaryl or C _7-10 An aralkyl group.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein R is unsubstituted C _1-6 An alkyl group.

23. The method of claim 19 or 20, wherein R is methyl, ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, butyl, or tert-butyl.

24. A phosphorus-containing flame retardant produced according to the process of any of claims 1-23, directly in powder or small particle form, wherein the flame retardant is a compound of empirical formula (II) or a mixture of compounds of empirical formula (II):

wherein R is H, alkyl, aryl, alkaryl, or aralkyl,

m is a metal and y is 2-5Number, such that M ^(+)y Is a metal cation, wherein (+) y represents the charge formally assigned to the cation;

a is a number of 0 to 8, b is a number of 1 to 4, c is a number of 1 to 10, and a, b, c and d represent the ratio of their components corresponding to each other in the compound and satisfy charge balance equation 2 (a) + c + d = b (y).

25. A flame retardant material comprising a compound of empirical formula (III)

Wherein R is H, an alkyl, aryl, alkaryl or aralkyl group;

m is a metal and y is 2 or 3, such that M ^(+)y Is a metal cation, wherein (+) y represents the charge formally assigned to the cation;

a is a number from 0 to 8, b is a number from 1 to 4, c is a number from 1 to 10, and a, b and c represent the ratio of their components corresponding to each other in the compound and satisfy charge balance equation 2 (a) + c = b (y); and is provided with

Wherein the compound of empirical formula (III) comprises at least a majority by weight of the flame retardant material.

26. The flame retardant material of claim 25, wherein y is 3,a is 1,b is 1, and c is 1.

27. The flame retardant material of claim 26 wherein M is selected from Al, ga, sb, fe, co, B and Bi.

28. A fire retardant material according to claim 27, wherein M is selected from Al and Fe.

29. The flame retardant material of any one of claims 25-28, wherein R is H, C _1-12 Alkyl radical, C _6-10 Aryl radical, C _7-18 Alkylaryl or C _7-18 Aralkyl radical, whereinThe alkyl, aryl, alkaryl or aralkyl radicals being unsubstituted or substituted by halogen, hydroxy, amino, C _1-4 Alkylamino, di-C _1-4 Alkylamino radical, C _1-4 Alkoxy, carboxyl or C _2-5 Alkoxycarbonyl is substituted.

30. The flame retardant material of claim 29, wherein R is unsubstituted C _1-12 Alkyl radical, C ₆ Aryl radical, C _7-10 Alkylaryl or C _7-10 An aralkyl group.

31. The flame retardant material of claim 30, wherein R is unsubstituted C _1-6 An alkyl group.

32. The flame retardant material of claim 31, wherein R is methyl, ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, butyl, or tert-butyl.

33. The flame retardant material of claim 25, wherein the compound of empirical formula (III) is a compound of empirical formula (IIIa)

Wherein R is H or alkyl.

34. The flame retardant material of claim 33, wherein R is unsubstituted C _1-6 An alkyl group.

35. The flame retardant material of claim 34, wherein R is methyl or ethyl.

36. The flame retardant material of any one of claims 25-28 and 33-35, wherein the compound of empirical formula (III) or the compound of empirical formula (IIIa) comprises at least 75wt% of the flame retardant material.

37. The flame retardant material of claim 36, wherein the compound of empirical formula (III) or the compound of empirical formula (IIIa) comprises at least 90wt% of the flame retardant material.

38. A flame retardant polymer composition comprising (i) a polymer and (ii) a flame retardant material according to any of claims 25-37.

39. The flame retardant polymer composition of claim 38 wherein the polymer comprises one or more of a polyolefin homopolymer or copolymer, rubber, polyester, epoxy, polyurethane, polysulfone, polyimide, polyphenylene oxide, styrenic polymer or copolymer, polycarbonate, acrylic polymer, polyamide, or polyacetal.

40. The flame retardant polymer composition of claim 39 wherein the polymer comprises one or more of a styrenic polymer or copolymer, a polyolefin homopolymer or copolymer, a polyester, a polycarbonate, an acrylic polymer, an epoxy, a polyamide, or a polyurethane.

41. The flame retardant polymer composition of claim 40 wherein the polymer comprises polyalkylene terephthalate, high Impact Polystyrene (HIPS), an epoxy resin, or a polyamide.

42. The flame retardant polymer composition of claim 41, where the polymer comprises a glass-filled polyalkylene terephthalate, a glass-reinforced epoxy resin, or a glass-filled polyamide.

43. The flame retardant polymer composition of claim 41, where the polymer comprises polyphthalamide.

44. The flame retardant polymer composition of claim 41 wherein the polymer comprises polyamide 46, polyamide 6, polyamide 66, polyamide 4T, or polyamide 9T.

45. The flame retardant polymer composition of claim 41 wherein the polymer comprises polyamide MXD,6, polyamide 12,T, polyamide 10,T, polyamide 6,T/6,6, polyamide 6,T/D, T, polyamide 6,6/6,T/6,I, polyamide 6/6,T, or polyamide 6,T/6,I.

46. The flame retardant polymer composition of claim 38 wherein the polymer comprises a polyphenylene ether/styrenic resin blend, acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), polyvinyl chloride/ABS blend, methacrylonitrile/ABS blend, alpha-methylstyrene containing ABS, polyester/ABS, polycarbonate/ABS, impact modified polyester or impact modified polystyrene.

47. The flame retardant polymer composition according to any of claims 38-46 further comprising (iii) one or more compounds selected from the group consisting of other flame retardants, synergists and flame retardant aids.

48. The flame retardant polymer composition of claim 47 wherein the one or more compounds are selected from the group consisting of halogenated flame retardants, alkyl or aryl phosphine oxides, alkyl or aryl poly phosphine oxides, alkyl or aryl phosphate esters, alkyl or aryl phosphonate esters, alkyl or aryl phosphinate esters, salts of alkyl or aryl phosphinate acids, carbon black, graphite, carbon nanotubes, siloxanes, polysiloxanes, polyphenylene ethers, melamine derivatives, melamine condensation products, melamine salts, metal hydroxides, metal oxides, metal hydrous oxides, metal borates, metal carbonates, metal sulfates, metal phosphates, metal phosphonates, metal phosphites, metal phosphinates, metal silicates, and mixed metal salts.

49. The flame retardant polymer composition according to claim 48 wherein the one or more compounds are selected from the group consisting of aluminum tris (dialkylphosphinate), aluminum hydrogen phosphite, benzylphosphine oxide, poly benzylphosphine oxide, melam, melem, melon amine, melamine phosphate, melamine metal phosphate, melamine cyanurate, melamine borate, talc, clay, calcium silicate, aluminosilicate as hollow tubes, aluminosilicate, calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate, barium sulfate, calcium sulfate, boron phosphate, calcium molybdate, exfoliated vermiculite, zinc stannate, zinc hydroxystannate, zinc sulfide, zinc borate, zinc molybdate, zinc phosphate, magnesium oxide, magnesium hydroxide, aluminum oxide, aluminum hydroxide, aluminum trihydrate, silicon dioxide, tin oxide, antimony oxides (III and V), antimony (III and V) hydrated oxides, titanium oxides, zinc hydrated oxides, zirconium oxide, and zirconium hydroxide.

50. The flame retardant polymer composition of claim 49 wherein the one or more compounds are selected from the group consisting of aluminum tris (dimethylphosphinate), aluminum tris (diethylphosphinate), aluminum tris (dipropylphosphinate), aluminum tris (dibutylphosphinate), methylene diphenylphosphine oxide substituted polyarylethers, xylylene bis (diphenylphosphine oxide), 1,2-bis- (9,10-dihydro-9-oxa-10-phosphaphenanthrene-10-oxide) ethane, 4,4 '-bis (diphenylphosphinomethyl) -1,1' -biphenyl, melam, melem, melon amine, and dimelamine zinc pyrophosphate.

51. The flame retardant polymer composition according to claim 38 further comprising one or more compounds selected from the group consisting of hydrotalcite clays, metal borates, metal oxides and metal hydroxides.

52. The flame retardant polymer composition of claim 51 wherein the metal of the metal borates, metal oxides and metal hydroxides is zinc or calcium.

53. The flame retardant polymer composition of claim 47 wherein the one or more compounds are selected from melam, melem, melon amine, melamine cyanurate, melamine polyphosphate, melamine-poly (metal phosphate), poly- [2,4- (piperazine-1,4-yl) -6- (morpholin-4-yl) -1,3,5-triazine ]/piperazine, aluminum hypophosphite and aluminum dialkylphosphinate.

54. The flame retardant polymer composition of claim 47 wherein the one or more compounds are selected from the group consisting of zinc borate, zinc stannate, polysiloxane, kaolin, silica, magnesium hydroxide, zinc molybdate complex, zinc molybdate/magnesium hydroxide complex, zinc molybdate/magnesium silicate complex, calcium molybdate/zinc complex, zinc phosphate complex, and melamine-polyphosphate.

55. The flame retardant polymer composition according to claim 47 wherein the one or more compounds comprise melam and any one or more materials selected from the group consisting of zinc borate, zinc stannate, zinc molybdate complex, zinc molybdate/magnesium hydroxide complex, zinc molybdate/magnesium silicate complex, calcium molybdate/zinc complex, zinc phosphate complex, and zinc oxide.

56. The flame retardant polymer composition according to claim 47 wherein the one or more compounds comprise melon amine and any one or more materials selected from the group consisting of zinc borate, zinc stannate, zinc molybdate complex, zinc molybdate/magnesium hydroxide complex, zinc molybdate/magnesium silicate complex, calcium molybdate/zinc complex, zinc phosphate complex, and zinc oxide.

57. A method for improving the flame retardancy of a polymer, comprising incorporating the flame retardant material of any of claims 25-37 into a polymer resin, optionally together with one or more other flame retardants, synergists or flame retardant aids.